The Imperial Beach farmers market has found its new permanent home at the foot of the Imperial Beach Pier several months after leaving its original location on Rainbow Drive. — David Brooks / UNION-TRIBUNE

The Imperial Beach farmers market has found its new permanent home at the foot of the Imperial Beach Pier several months after leaving its original location on Rainbow Drive.
— David Brooks / UNION-TRIBUNE

IMPERIAL BEACH  Lisa and Ben Swearingen have made a regular Friday outing of packing up the kids and heading to the beach. But the Imperial Beach family of four doesn’t just go to soak up the sun. They also go to stock up on strawberries and sprouts.

The Imperial Beach Farmers Market is now a permanent weekly fixture at the Imperial Beach Pier after the City Council granted a permit to the market’s operators.

“You can’t beat having a market on the beach,” Ben Swearingen said as he held recyclable bags filled with lemons, tangerines, eggs and avocados. “I like how open it is. It’s better for the family. We love it.”

The market opened with a temporary permit at the pier last month after it was shut down at its original location in the parking lot of the Silver Strand Shopping Center on Rainbow Drive. Organizers were forced to find a new location when the shopping center’s customers complained they couldn’t find parking spaces due to the market’s popularity and sizable crowds.

Visitors, neighbors and local business owners say the new location is fitting for Imperial Beach. But in approving the special permit needed for the space on April 7, city officials sent strong warnings that the permit could be pulled if parking becomes an issue, if trucks damage the plaza or if the number of produce vendors falls below what is required for a certified market.

“I’m concerned about it coming together as a flea market,” Councilwoman Patricia McCoy said.

Councilwoman Lorie Bragg said she didn’t want any expansion of the market into the plaza’s grassy area.

Mayor Jim Janney, who opposes a farmers market at the pier, cast the lone vote against the permit.

One recent Friday at the new location, customers in beach attire browsed more than 30 booths on the plaza off Seacoast Drive near Evergreen Avenue while fisherman and surfers walked to and from the pier. The market is open from 1 to 6 p.m. every Friday and is sponsored by I.B. Beautiful, a nonprofit beautification group.

“I like the ambience it brings,” said Fabrice Gaunin, owner of the Cow-A-Bunga ice cream store on the plaza. “On a regular Friday, it would be empty out there. People don’t come out when it gets a little cold.”

City Manager Gary Brown said staff members have worked hard in responding to the community’s desire to keep the market, getting the complex special and coastal permits and a site plan to the City Council in a matter of weeks.

He said the city will work with organizers to make sure they follow city codes. If they don’t, the city could revoke the market’s permit.

“In general, the feedback that I’ve gotten from people out there, merchants and customers are very happy with it,” Brown said. “It hasn’t been easy to get there, but overall, people are having a good time. It’s a gathering place and a community event that we hope will be a good thing over the summer.”